USA > Illinois > Fayette County > History of Fayette County, Illinois > Part 20
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Mr. Snyder, like all our patriotic German citizens and their descendants, was during the late war a decided Union man. And as such, was strong in his advocacy of Mr. Lincoln's policy ; believing it in every way to be the best adapted to a final settlement of the then existing difficulties between the two sections of the country ; and one, which, if carried to a successful termi- nation, would banish sectional strife forever, and tend ultimately to draw the entire country closer together in the bonds of national unity.
He is a young, enterprising, and self-made man, and one who will become more useful, and respected by the community and his family as he travels the rugged pathway of life, never diverted from the straight road by the allurements with which every honest man's way is beset, and which only the truly strong and courageous resist.
WESLEY McINTURF.
WESLEY MCINTURF is the fourth child of Wilson and Mahale (Hicker- son) MeInturf, and was born in Seminary township August 10th, 1831. His father was a native of North Carolina and his mother of Tennessee. Mrs. McInturf came to Illinois in 1818, and was married soon after her arrival. They died when their son Wesley was quite young, leaving a small patrimony to be divided among six heirs. After their parents' death Wesley and his sister Emily remained with the family and tried to provide for the wants and necessities of their younger brothers and sisters. Emily died in 1856, having nobly devoted her life to the interests of her family.
Owing to these circumstances he had no opportunities for mental improve- ment. His entire schooling did not embrace & period of more than six months. This, however, did not deter him from getting the groundwork of an education. December 7th, 1852, he married Matilda, daughter of Henry Whittenmeyer, one of the old settlers and best citizens of Fayette County.
They have had ten children, seven of whom are living in the following order of their births: Wiley W., Mary Illinois, Martha Christina, Julia Grant, Sarah Maranda, Diana, and John Henry, all of whom are living at home with their parents.
In politics Mr. McInturf is an ardent Republican, and during the war endorsed Mr. Lincoln's policy, voting for him on both occasions of his can- didacy for President. Though never actively engaged in politics he has several times been elected to office in his township. As a farmer and agriculturalist he has been quite successful. Starting in life with little or nothing, he has secured a competency by strict attention to his business and honesty of purpose. He belongs to that class of men in which the safety and perpetuity of our free institutions is the first and great idea that engages their attention ; one who adds to the wealth and moral standing of the community in which he lives.
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HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, ILLINOIS.
E. J. CREEL,
THE eldest child of Berryman and Lucinda (Dunaway) Creel, was born Dec. 27, 1839, in Clinton County, Illinois, where his childhood and youth were spent. He had occasional opportunities of attending the district schools in the neighborhood of his father's farm ; but the greater part of his time, after he was eight years old, was spent in assisting his parents. The life of the farmer of those early days furnishes a striking contrast to those of the pre- sent. Then, it was a life-toil and drudgery ; now, one of pleasure and profit. Then, the "popular fallacy," that neither education or culture was necessary to the farmer's success was accepted " Lex terræ." Now, it is an established fact that a liberal education not only brings pecuniary success to the agricul- turist, but also elevates his calling, until it is now considered one of the most honorable professions to which man's attention is directed.
February 26, 1862, Mr. Creel married Miss Mary A. Settles, daughter of Isaac Settles, one of the early pioneers of the State. His daughter, Mrs. Creel, was born in Clinton County. After his marriage, Mr. Creel com- menced farming on his own account in his native county, where he continued until September, 1868, when he purchased and removed to the farm he now occupies. Four children have been the result of the above union, in the following order of their births: Emma Ida, Clifton Sparks, Lillie Earl, and Thomas Franklin, who died March 14, 1877. Mr. Creel is an industrious, upright man, and a good citizen, which is testified in his having been called upon several times to fill public positions in his township.
In politics he is a Democrat, and during the late war occupied a conserva- tive position, deploring the necessity of a war brought about by the fanatical and fire-eating elements in both sections of the country. He is a man, who, by a life of frugality and industry, has risen mainly through his own exer- tions to a position of prominence and usefulness in the county.
DANIEL SNYDER,
THE eldest son of Emanuel and Ann Eliza Snyder, was born in Kurfurstum, Hessen, Germany, and came with his parents to Vandalia about 1820. In 1828 he moved to the south part of what is now known as the old Snyder homestead.' He married in 1827 Ann Curlee, by whom he had nine chil- dren, of which only two are now living-Martha Ellen, now Mrs. Dr. Pickens, and Louvincia A., wife of George M. Blatchley. Mr. Snyder was one of those honest and hardy sons of toil that make themselves and the community in which they live wealthy. Early advantages he had none; but he was possessed of a cheerful and sanguine temperament, sober and indus- trious habits, a good mind and sound body, and set to work with great pru- dence and foresight to surmount the obstacles with which his path to com- petency and ease was beset. His success is familiar to most persons in the county, and is a matter of pride to his family and friends He died at the homestead about the year 1862. His wife died in 1850. He is spoken of by those that knew him as a superlatively good man, and one whose death was & public loss. His daughter Louvincia was married August 12, 1874, to Mr. George M. Blatchley. They have had two children, Daniel Augustus and Emory Pearl, the former two years and the latter two months old. Mr. Blatchley is a native of Pennsylvania, and came to this county in 1863. He was during the war a union man, and endorsed Mr. Lincoln's policy by word and deed. Mr. and Mrs. Blatchley still reside upon the old home place. Mr. B. is a young man of good habits, and has the reputation among those that know him best of possessing all the requisites that will eventually make him one of the prominent men of his county.
J. G. SMITH,
AT present numbered among Fayette County's efficient corps of teachers, is a native of Illinois, and was born in Clinton County, February 14th, 1857. He is the second child of John K. and Susan (Duncan) Smith. His mother died when he was an infant, since which time he has found a home with his uncle, Wm. P. Duncan, where he and his sister, Mary E. Smith, (who was born in Missouri,) are at present residing. He came to Fayette County when nine years of age, almost entirely dependent upon his own exertions for gain- ing a livelihood and education. His youth was passed in working on a farm and in attending the district schools when the opportunity afforded. He applied himself, however, with diligence to his studies, and notwithstanding his limited
advantages, became so proficient that before he was twenty years old, he suc- ceeded in passing the required examination, and received a certificate to teach in the public schools. He is now in charge of his third school ; his first he taught in Clinton County. He is one of three old scholars of M. M. Merri- man, who are now engaged in the same profession with their preceptor.
Mr. Smith furnishes a good example of what can be accomplished by per- severance and application. Early in life he was deprived of the counsels and advice of (man's best earthly friend) his mother; but notwithstanding this great deprivation, he has by his own efforts and good sense fitted himself for an important position in life. And it is safe to predict, should his life be spared, he will be a prominent and influential man in the community in which he lives.
WILLIAM HENNINGER.
AMONG the early settlers and prominent citizens of Fayette County none are more deserving of honorable mention than William Henninger. He is the eldest child of Henry and Margaret (Greaver) Henninger, who were natives of Washington County, Virginia, and where they were married about September, 1816. The family emigrated from Virginis in 1833, and in October of that year settled two and one half miles south of Vandalia.
Henry Henninger was a farmer and local Methodist preacher. He died August 19th, 1834. His son William had few advantages during his youth ; and until he was fifteen years old he attended subscription schools in his native State. After his father's death, which occurred when he was only seventeen years old, the care of a family and the comforting of a widowed mother devolved upon his young shoulders. This duty he filially dis- charged. October 13th, 1842, he married Miss Martha Segreaves, whose parents were natives of Tennessee, she being born in Bond County, Illinois. She died October, 1844. October 27th, 1845, he married Miss Mary I. Oglesby, daughter of Humphrey F. Oglesby, of Mason County, Kentucky. Mr. Oglesby moved from Kentucky to Lincoln County, Mo., in 1832, and died August 14th, 1842. His wife was a native of Virginia, her family emigrating to Kentucky at an early day. Their daughter, Mrs. Henninger, was born in Mason County, Kentucky, July 5th, 1819. After her father's death she went to Mur roe County, Mo., where Mr. Henninger first met her, and where they were married.
They have had seven children, six daughters, and one son, who died in infancy. Five daughters are still living, in the following order of their births: Martha Jane, now the wife of John Davidson ; Mary Margaret, wife of Wm. Brown ; Sarah Elizabeth, wife of Dr. L. S. Rice; Illinois Vir- ginia, married Wm. Farmer; Josephine Ellen, residing with her parents.
Mr. and Mrs. Henninger, having no sons living, adopted Wm. and John J. Brown. William married one of his foster-parents' daughters, and John J. is at present assistant in the Vandalia High School, where he enjoys the reputation of being an accomplished and industrious scholar and most suc- cessful teacher.
Jackson Davis was another protege. He came to them when about thirteen years old, and remained until the breaking out of the civil war. He enlisted in 1861, in Comp. B. 35th Regt. Illinois Volunteers. The regi- ment was immediately ordered to the front, and were constantly in active service. He participated in the Battles of Ozark Mountain, Pea Ridge, Island No. 10, Forts Donaldson and Henry. At Murphysboro' he received his death-wound ; thus laying down a young and useful life upon his coun- try's altar, and adding another name to the long list of heroes whose deeds of valor are engraven upon the hearts of a grateful people, never to be obliterated. To his adopted parents his loes was severe, and they speak of him with tenderness and pride.
Immediately upon hearing of the disaster Mr. Henninger started to render him all the aid a father's heart could prompt. Upon arriving at the mouth of the Cumberland River he was, by the stern necessities of war, prevented from proceeding further. Shortly after news of his death came to his sor- rowing friends and parents.
In politics Mr. Henninger was a Whig, until 1860, when he identified himself with the Republican party, of which he is an honest and fearless member. During the war be was outspoken and emphatic in his Union sentiments. He was nominated by the Republicans for the State Senate in the fall of 1873. He had never been a politician or office seeker, and the nomination was unsought. The district was strongly Democratic, and com- posed of the counties of Fayette and Marion.' Notwithstanding this, how-
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Mary & Henninger
Milliano Henninger
FARM RESIDENCE OF WILLIAM HENNINGER , SEC.26.T.6.R.I.W. ( BEAR GROVE TP.), FAYETTE CO. ILL.
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HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, ILLINOIS.
ever, he was defeated by only a small majority. He has been school director and township treasurer for a number of years.
Mr. and Mrs. Henninger are members of Morris Chapel M. E. Church. The church was built principally through the efforts of Mr. Henninger and his brother, John B. Mr. Henninger's father enlisted in the war of 1812. His first term of service expiring, he re-enlisted, and served throughout the war. He had his reward in witnessing the signal failure of the last attempt of the mother country in reducing us to subjection.
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Mr. Henninger is indebted to no one except, as he says, to his mother, for her early training and example, for his success in life. He began life without means, but had good habits and a strong will, and has risen unaided to a position of affluence and prominence. He is a good example of what honesty of purpose, integrity of character, and a strong and abiding faith in the rulings of an all-wise Providence can accomplish. His home-place contains 641 acres of fine arable land, well adapted to grain-growing and stock- raising. Besides, he has two other farms in the township, one of 243 and another of 140 acres. He is a stockholder in the Vandalia National Bank.
He is a genial gentleman, a good husband and father, and, true to the blood of Virginia's generous sons, dispenses a liberal hospitality.
JOHN B. HENNINGER.
THE name of Henninger is one of the best known in Fayette County, by reason of the success that has attended the members of it, and their well-known honor and integrity. John B. is the second son of Henry and Margaret (Greaver) Henninger, and was born November 23d, 1819, in what is now West Virginia. He came to this county with his parents when quite young; his parents locating in Vandalia Township not far from the present residence of their son. Mr. Henninger's early years were spent upon
the farm. His father dying soon after their arrival, he was thrown complete- ly upon his own resources, and in consequence enjoyed few, and exceedingly limited opportunities during his youth. After their father's death, he together with his elder brother William, assisted their widowed mother in maintaining the younger members of the family. His education is of that practical and useful nature acquired by experience and a desire to study, which he never failed to do, when his duty to his mother and family permitted him to take the opportunity. He married Miss Elizabeth Woolsey, who lived only & short time, and left one son, Wm. H. still living, having married and located on a farm near his father. Mr. Henninger married, Dec. 28th, 1847, Miss Amanda Oglesby, daughter of Humphrey F. Oglesby, of Kentucky, and sis- ter of Mrs. Wm. Henninger. They have had eight children, six of whom are living, in the following order of their births : George, Harriet, wife of R. C. Clarke, Nancy Johnson, John W., Lyman Trumbull and Eliza Jane; all except George and Mrs. Clark still with their parents. Mr. and Mrs. Hennin- ger have an adopted son, James Miller, now living in Bond County, Illinois. He enlisted in the union army, and was taken prisoner and incarcerated in An- dersonville, where he endured all the hardships and privations that our brave troops were subjected to by the heartless and inhuman advocates of state sovereignty and negro slavery.
Mr. Henninger, realizing the advantage and importance of early and effi- cient training and knowledge, has given his children every opportunity, sev- eral of them going abroad to school. While never being actively engaged in politics, he is strong in his political convictions. He was originally an old line Whig, and afterwards a staunch Republican, and consequently during the rebellion a strong advocate for the union and its preservation. He is one of Fayette County's best citizens, and a man who from small beginnings, by a course of strict honesty and industry, has risen to a position of prominence and usefulness, and has the well merited confidence and esteem of the entire community.
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KASKASKIA TOWNSHIP.
SOUTH-WESTERN township of Fayette County, that until 1877 embraced within its limits, the present township of Pope, or as it is more frequently called Lost township, in the extreme south- western end of the county. The situation of Kaskaskia town- ship, contiguous to the county seat and near to the line of the St. Louis, Vandalia and Indianapolis railroad, and intersected by the Illinois Central, make it one of the most desirable in the county for the farmer and stock-raiser.
The surface is a rolling prairie, the soil of which is a rich sandy loam, and particularly adapted to wheat culture and stock-raising; the pasture lands rivaling the famous blue grass region of Kentucky. The land adjacent to the Kaskaskia River which forms its western boundary is flat, and a rich alluvial deposit, and of inexhaustible fertility. These lands and some of a like nature along several minor streams comprise about one-fifth of the total area of the township, most of which is covered with the primeval forest. The uplands are also dotted over with beautiful groves of more recent growth. It is well drained, and there is not in the entire township a quarter section of land unfit for cultivation.
EARLY SETTLEMENT.
Prior to 1828, there were a few families in the southern part of the town- ship, of whom all trace has been lost. In that year Franklin Brown settled near the central part of it; some time subsequently Ignatius and Stephen Anderson, William and Benjamin F. Lee, formed settlements. Of the present occupants probably two-thirds are native born Americans, most of whom emigrated from Kentucky and Tennessee, and a few from Virginia, New York and the New England States. The remaining third are princi- pally Germans and a small number of Irish.
The character of the community is excellent. Churches and schools are in a flourishing condition, and nowhere within the precincts of the township is there a tavern, bar-room or other place where alcohol in any of its forms is sold. Almost all denominations of the Christian Church are represented in its people, and as a natural sequence morality and virtue are strongly in the ascendancy, and vice and crime almost wholly unknown.
AGRICULTURE
is the principal employment of the people, the soil yielding a generous re- turn. Wheat, corn, rye, oats, tobacco, sugar-cane, timothy, vegetables and fruit grow abundantly. The remarkable fertility of the soil is best illus- trated by a statement of William H. Lee, a gentleman of unquestioned veracity, that a field in his neighborhood had been cropped nearly sixty successive years, without having been manured or even any attention paid to rotation of crops, and the last year the yield was about twenty bushels of wheat to the acre. And such is the character of the soil in almost the entire township. Such a condition of things must necessarily with thrift, industry and economy, result in the improvement, financially and otherwise, of the people, and numerous enterprises of a public and private nature have been carried to a successful termination.
The first business attempted outside of farming was that of general mer- chandising, and a store was opened for that purpose by William Welborn. About the same time Washington Reley built and run a blacksmith shop.
The first tavern was opened and is still conducted by E. A. Fry, in Sho- bonier. Franklin Brown was the first minister of the gospel, and Dr. Oliver P. Hatton the first physician located in the township.
A saw and grist mill, the first in the township, was built and operated by a
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HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, ILLINOIS.
gentleman from New York, named Haskin, who also laid out the first ad- dition to the town of Shobonier, where the mill was located.
The Carlisle road supposed to be the first laid out in the township, runs through it in a south-westerly direction, and is the highway from Vandalia to Carlisle in Clinton County.
BHOBONIER
the only town within the precincts of the township, is situated on the line of the Illinois Central Railroad, which runs very near through the centre of it, from north to south. The location of the town is about the centre of the township, and is a place of some importance, considerable business being done in the shipping of grain and cattle. It was laid out in 1844, shortly after the completion of the railroad, and takes its name from Shobonier, a chief of the Kaskaskia tribe of Indians, who frequented the neighborhood after the first settlement by the whites. It now (1877) has two hundred and seventy-five inhabitants; four general stores; two hotels; two blacksmith and one wagon shop. A substantial and commodious brick church has been recently erected at a cost of $5000, mainly through the efforts of William H. Lee, E. A. Fry and M. W. Randall. It is used by the Baptists with thirty-three ; Methodists with twenty-three; and Presbyterians with twenty communicants. In connection with the Church is a union Sabbatb-school
with more than one hundred scholars, under the superintendence of M. W. Randall.
The first Sabbath-school in the township was organized by E. A. Fry, who was its first superintendent, some years prior to the building of the Church, and was conducted in an old log building situated one mile north of Sho- bonier.
In 1859 the township was the scene of a distressing and fatal accident. Two men, Mays and Robert Gossart, in attempting to take a raft of logs down the Kaskaskia River to Carlisle, were stopped in their passage by a drift, which they endeavored to pass by cutting away the outside logs from the raft. This they proceeded to do with an auger, the only implement they had with them, having dropped their axe into the stream. The raft becoming suddenly disentangled, the men became frightened and jumped off on the drift, and crossed to the west shore. The country was inundated, and they were unable to get to the high ground on the east side of the river. Several weeks later Gossart was found dead at the shanty from where they had started, with some strips of sassafras bark in his pockets, and his finger nails worn to the quick, done in his efforts to get bark to appease his hunger.
The first entry of land in the township was by Francis Brown in section 10-80 acres, October, 1829; and 80 acres by Jonathan Britton, March 3d, 1830, in sec. 1.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN LEE
WAS born in Cayuga County, New York, Dec. 15, 1817, and was the third child of Lemuel and Rhoda (Randall) Lee. Lemuel Lee served in the war of 1812, and his father in the Revolutionary war. Benjamin F. Lee was about four years of age when his father moved to Vandalia, where young Lee's youth was spent in assisting his father at anything that promised em- ployment or profit. On one occasion he started with his father to drive hogs to Racine, Wisconsin, the trip occupying about two months and a half.
Owing to the scarcity of good schools, he had to get his knowledge as best he might. He was fortunate enough, however, to be able to attend Rock Springs Seminary, then located three miles west of Lebanon, in St. Clair's County. In 1853, then in his sixteenth year, he engaged to haul goods to and from St. Louis. Owing to the severity of the weather and bad condition of the roads it took him twenty-six days to make his first trip. This was the commencement of his business career. About 1837, together with his - brother, he settled in Kaskaskia Township.
January 21, 1841, he married Miss Charlotte Lorain Bishop, whose father, Dr. Simeon Bishop, Sr., was the first botanic physician that located in Fayette County. Frederick A. Bishop, a brother of Mrs. Lee, served in the Mexican war, and was one of the pioneers to California, where he is now living. Dr. Simeon Bishop, Jr., another brother, is a graduate of the Physio-Medical College of Cincinnati, and is now practising his profession at Reno, Nevada. Judge Wm. W. Bishop, one of the most eminent advo- cates of the Pacific Coast, and Dr. Alva C. Bishop, of Eureka, Nevada, are also brothers of Mrs. Lee. The latter was during the late war in command of a company in the 8th Illinois Volunteers, and participated in the siege of Vicksburg and other important battles in the West.
Mr. and Mrs. Lee have had seven children. James M. Lee, the eldest, enlisted at the breaking out of the Rebellion, and was corporal in Company H, 8th Regiment Illinois Volunteers, for three months. At the expiration of his time, he re enlisted, and was killed, while bravely doing his duty, in one of the most bloody and hotly contested battles of the war. Dr. Simeon L. Lee, their second son, is now a practitioner at Pioche, Nevada, and was also a Union soldier. Rose H., their eldest daughter, married Cloud Mar- tin, of Marion County; and Alzora E., Dr. O. C. Pollock, of Fayette County. Ortis F., a graduate of Eclectic Medical College of Cincinnati ; Dora L., at-
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